Amadeus II, Emperor of the Ad Astera Empire, was sitting alone on his throne in an unoccupied audience hall.

　It was not that he had any plans for an audience. This is a habit of the emperor when he is thinking, and his bodyguards are waiting behind the door.

　As he propped himself up on one elbow on his throne, the image of the dark-haired young man who had just left the Imperial City flashed through his mind.


I have no interest in the past or the truth, all for my own purposes, huh?


　The old emperor's throat quivered with pleasure.


The old emperor's throat quivered with pleasure. "The sky is definitely your child, O Shikibu. The words may be different, but the path we are taking is the same. However, unlike you, who only cares about yourself, Sora seems to have some feelings for others. ......


　The emperor's eyes were somewhat distant as he said this.


I wonder if this is due to the influence of her mother, Shizuya. She was a kind-hearted girl. If the sternness of Shikibu and the gentleness of Shizuya are equally present in her body, then Sora is indeed of the blood of two parents.


　The emperor said to himself, closed his eyes and leaned his back against the throne. The emperor closed his eyes and leaned his back against the throne, trying to send his consciousness back in time.

　But in the next moment, the emperor's thoughts were broken. The door to the audience hall opened with a loud bang.

　The sound of clacking shoes echoed through the air, and an elderly man with a face full of vigor walked up to the throne.

　His eyes were blue, his eyebrows were arched in a way that women would envy, and his high nose was reminiscent of a sculpture made by a master craftsman. He is tall, his limbs are straight, and his walk is flawless. The smile on his face showed a strong sense of pride, as if he believed himself to be the master of the palace.

　The Emperor raised his eyebrows and addressed the approaching figure.


"What do you want, Richard?

What do you want, Richard?" "Can't a child see his father without an errand, father?　That is a very sad thing to say.


　The Crown Prince, Richard, with his fine eyebrows furrowed, complained sadly, but the Emperor snubbed his son's attitude.


The emperor sniffed at his son's attitude: "You are a proud son, with all the talent in the world, both literary and military, but, alas, you lack the talent for theatrical performance.


　When Richard heard this, he stroked his face and withdrew his sad expression, and let out a lively laugh.


I'm not sure if that was intentional or not. Well, Shion alone is sufficient to play the role of a filial daughter who cares for her father. I'm willing to take on what Shion cannot.

So you say. Of all my children, you are the only one who can handle the position of Crown Prince.


　The Emperor said this, and for the first time, his voice took on a hint of sarcasm.


"Palladice, Carnelius, Azurite, and Mikado. All the leading nobles of our country support you. Your position as the next Emperor can be said to be solid. You yourself are in close contact with them. There's no need for you to be anxious.

"I believe that your father's words are correct and reasonable. The throne will belong to the Crown Prince. This is a logic that even a child can understand, but unfortunately, there are many fools in the world who turn their back on logic. There are those who think that the more solid my position is, the more they will benefit when it is overturned.


　At this point, Richard's eyes narrowed, and he cast a meaningful glance at his father on the throne.


In order to give them less room to maneuver, I would like to ask you to advance my position one step further.

Are you asking me to abdicate?

No!　I am not only your son, but also your vassal. As a vassal, I would never have the impudence to question the throne. However, I'm sure you are aware of the disturbing rumors that have been circulating within and without the Empire in recent years.　If we continue to take no action, there may be people who will assume that the rumors are true and that your father intends to change the order of succession to the throne upon Shion's coming of age. If they take advantage of Shion's good nature and plot against him...


　Rumors will cease to be rumors.

　As he said this, Richard's voice sounded very calm.


He said, "It is too sour for blood brothers to shed blood with each other. In order to avoid such a situation, I would like to ask your father to do something about it. For example, if Shion is made a vassal, there will be no room for fools.


　The word "vassalage" means to leave the status of the royal family and join the ranks of the vassals.

　Since he is no longer a member of the imperial family, he naturally loses the right to succeed to the imperial throne. Also, once a person has left the vassalage, he cannot return to the imperial family.

　In the Adosterian Empire, it was not uncommon to use the vassalage method to avoid confusion in the succession to the imperial throne. For example, the Dukes of Palladice, one of the three most prestigious families, was created when the brother of the second emperor descended to the vassalage and was granted the Palladian domain.

　Amadeus II, who had experienced difficulties in his own succession to the throne, took great care to preserve the position of the crown prince, Richard. In fact, his younger brothers who were close in age to Richard were demoted to the vassalage at an early stage.

　--Amadeus II has not taken any action against Prince Shion.

　There was no denying the fact that this was contributing to the rumors of discord in the royal family. The words that Richard had just said, 'There may be some who will infer evil,' may have been his own thoughts as well.

　The emperor remained silent and did not answer.

　To tell the truth, Amadeus II had no intention to disinherit Richard. He had considered the option of sending Shion down to the vassalage.

　However, the reason why he has not made a decision yet is because the Emperor considers Richard's martial spirit dangerous. He would shed too much blood in his quest to be the champion of the continent.

　Amadeus II himself, when he was young, was greedy for territory and power and was feared by neighboring countries for his harshness. Therefore, it would be like spitting in the face of the heavens to criticize Richard's way of doing things, but even with that in mind, I would have to shake my head if I were to ask whether I could entrust my empire to the current Richard.

　Amadeus II is still standing at the top, so he can control Richard's actions. Richard has also shown his willingness to listen to his father's words.

　However, once he takes over the throne, Richard will not care about his father's restraint. He will keep his father imprisoned half the time, and Richard himself will control all the machines as the emperor.

　The reason why I can say this is because Amadeus II did the same to his father.

　As for his own affairs, the emperor thinks that they are fine. What he does will come back to him, and it is called karma.



　However, he feared that Richard's hostility would be directed at Shion. There was no guarantee that dropping Shion from the vassalage would eliminate Richard's hostility.

　Besides, dropping Shion from the royal family could cause conflicts in other places.

　Specifically, it would intensify the conflict between the eastern nobles who supported Shion and the central nobles led by the three great families.

　Although the central aristocracy was dominating in terms of power, there was no denying the possibility that a small conflict could turn into a huge bonfire that would burn the entire empire. If we look at it from an unorthodox point of view, there is even a possibility that Richard and the central aristocrats who support him will use Shion to incite the eastern aristocrats to revolt in order to gain power in the east.

　The emperor wanted to take care of these problems during his reign. That is why he continues to sit on the throne in his old age.

　However, I am convinced that this will not last for long. As the emperor gets older, Richard will surely press him to give up the throne as soon as possible.

　This is also what Amadeus II did to his father.

　--It would be too ironic to say that they were father and son.

　The emperor propped himself up on his elbow and let out a small sigh so that his son would not notice.

　Silence enveloped the audience hall. It was Richard again who broke the silence.


"By the way, father. By the way, father, I heard that you invited a strange person into the palace.


　With a dazed look on his face, Richard changed the subject. It seems that Richard did not intend to confront his father decisively at this stage.

　However, this could be taken as an indication that he was aware of his father's behavior in the imperial palace.

　There are many courtiers who compare the short-lived emperor with the mature crown prince and give more weight to the latter in terms of loyalty.

　The emperor does not intend to call such people disloyal. Of course, it is not funny, but when he thinks about the future, he thinks it is natural that the scales of loyalty tilt in favor of the young crown prince.

　The Emperor responded to his son's words in a curt manner. 　


The emperor responded to his son's words in a curt manner, "A strange one, you say, with something in your teeth. You already know that he is the messenger of Sakuya and that he was the legitimate son of Mikado.

"Haha, as expected of your father, you know everything.


　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this, but I'm going to try.


I'm not sure what he and your father were talking about. Miken Sora. I heard that he was forced to leave Onigashima at a young age, but he recently accomplished a dragon slaying in the land of Canaria. I'm not sure if it's true or not, but since Sakuya has chosen you to be her messenger, it must be true that you killed the dragon. Are you planning to have her serve as Shion's bodyguard?

"No. The sky doesn't intend to serve my country. I can't tell him to serve us. In any case, the empire is the avenger of the curse of Claudia, the daughter of the duke who was his fiancee.


　The emperor glared at Richard.

　Richard, who had been leading the conspiracy against the Canary Kingdom, raised his head in agitation and met his father's gaze.


Father, I have already reported to you about it. It is true that I moved the sword through Belch. However, it was not to place a curse on the Duke's daughter, but to eliminate the nobles of the land who opposed Sakuya's wedding. The curse was placed on the daughter at the sole discretion of the sorcerer who carried it out. It was not my intention or the Mikado's.

It seems to me that you were aware of that arbitrary decision and left her alone.

I would say that's a bit of an oversimplification. However, I dare to say this. But let me ask you, even if your father is right, what is the problem?


　Then Richard laughed sarcastically.


I did not mean to harm any innocent people. I have not harmed any innocent people, and have you not stained your hands with the blood of the innocent for the sake of your country?

"......

"Well, it is clear that the series of events was our fault. That's why we promised the Canary Kingdom a great deal of assistance in the name of Sakuya's wedding, and the Canary side agreed to it. We have received reports that the dukes in question have also complied with the King of Canary's wishes. I don't think it would be in the best interest of either of our countries to bring it up again now...


　Rishard broke off at that point and turned his question to his father in a low voice.


Is the sky a foolish thing that does not understand this reasoning?

"That too is not true. The sky did not say a word about the curse. I asked him about it and he told me.


　It is the Emperor's duty to take responsibility for the actions of the Ad Astera Empire, no matter what the reason.

　The emperor did not mention Richard's involvement, but acknowledged his own responsibility for the curse placed on the duchess, and asked Sora's thoughts.

　As Sora himself did not mention the matter, he thought that he might end up poking a snake in the bushes. But more than that, he felt that this was a rare opportunity to test the capacity of Sora as a person.

　In response to the emperor's question, Sora responded without hesitation.



　--Of course, I have my own thoughts about the empire's actions. I have heard from the dukes that Jijinbo's actions were arbitrary, but that does not mean that those who gave the orders from the head office are not responsible.

　--The only one who is qualified to blame is not myself, who came out at the end of the situation and wielded a little sword, but Claudia herself, who has been tormented by the curse for a long time. Astrid and the other family members.

　--But the three of them don't want to blame the Empire. But the three do not blame the empire, because they know that doing so would lead to an even wider gap between them and the king, who wants to reconcile with the empire. A confrontation between the Canary royal family and the Dukes of Dragunaut, the leading noble families, could easily split the country. They wanted to avoid that.

　--The Dukes of Dragunaut, as the representative nobles of the Canary Kingdom, prioritized the peace of the Kingdom over their own pain and resentment. As the representative of the Canary Kingdom, the people of the Dukes of Dragunaut put the peace of the Kingdom above their own pain and resentment. Having welcomed Claudia into their home, they were now considered members of the Dukes. If I were to let my anger get the better of me and blame the Empire, I would be trampling on the will of the three of us.

　--Therefore, I have no intention of saying anything to the Empire. As long as they don't mess with Claudia again, or the dukes, ......



　Remembering the look in Sora's eyes as he said those last words, the emperor shivered faintly.

　I don't think Sora was trying to intimidate the Emperor. He was simply stating the facts quietly. The emperor understands this.



　But the dull look in his eyes, as if he were looking into an old well, spoke much more clearly of Sora's inner thoughts than a thousand words could ever do.

　It might have been a mistake not to invite Richard there at that time. As he exchanged words with Richard, the emperor felt no small amount of regret. ......